More Thankyou's .... Julia style

Remember Kerst's thank you?

Here's Julia's ... Here's mine.

So why did my Mom raise me to write thank you notes? I think she did it because she loved to read what we had to say ... because I do!

Christmas Card 2009

Here it is. What you all have been waiting for ... haha ...

Our crazy Christmas Card. It was a BLAST doing this photoshoot. The idea evolved as we got more into it.

Text in the card:
Holiday Greetings from our Family!

A snap shot:
Kendall: Potty Trained in March! In Preschool. Rules the House (so he thinks)
Kerst: Loves Singing, Loves to Play with Kendall, Baptized this year
Jaley: Loves to Play the Piano. Hard Working Student. Artist
Jenna: Loves to Swim on the HS Swim Team, Singing, Ipod Fan
Julia: Singing, Piano, made All State Choir, award winning photographer
Corin: Loves being home with her terrific kids and amazing husband
John: Loves to reconfigure the computers and his HTPC, would love to road bike more ...

May you feel peace, joy and the love of Christ this coming year.



And an extra treat for you ...
Bloopers ...When we were all done taking pictures in the dark and let in the light, they didn't even notice ...

Thank you ... Kerst style

Today as a family before dinner (I have to have something to motivate them!) we were writing our thank you notes.

Kerst made progress from last year ...

"Dear Uncle Reed & Aunt Brooke

Thank you for the popcorn popper

Mom made some and I didn't get any.

Love

Kerst"

He makes me laugh. Still.

Don't worry Reed and Brooke, I will be making more popcorn later tonight when we head down to watch a movie as a family.

Finished the challenge!

Kerst and I (and Jaley) took on this challenge from my friend Lisa of "10 a day". No, not fruit and vegetables ... but it is feasting. Feasting on the words of Christ by reading the Book of Mormon.

Our "10 (pages) a day" challenge began November 1st and ended Dec 24, Christmas Eve. 531 pages.

I enjoyed climbing into bed with Kerst each morning and reading 10 pages out loud. It took me 30 minutes each day to read aloud to Kerst. Jaley would join us at night when our mornings didn't allow such a luxury.

It was a neat experience for me to read the Book of Mormon out loud to Kerst. It made the stories come alive and the spirit of the book that much stronger. It was nice to read it at this speed (less than 2 months) as it allowed the stories to connect and flow into each other. Kerst loved it and has requested that we start again - today. I told him if we keep this up, we will read the Book of Mormon over 6 times each year.

This is an amazing book. It was a special experience to do with Kerst and Jaley. Thanks for the suggestion Lisa! What a great time of year to do this too.

Give it a try! You don't need to wait until next Nov 1st! You can go here to request your own free copy of this wonderful book of scripture that is another testament of Jesus Christ.

Merry CHRISTmas ... from our home to yours.

Advent Activity #24

Go to visit Emily and Rod (and cousins) for some Christmas Sing-Along singing ... amazing with 3 prior All State singers and 1 soon to be All State Singer (Julia) along with the musical parents (minus me to a degree) and siblings singing along right with them! We had a blast playing the homemade pipe chimes from conduit pipe (instructions here and here; we made a set several years ago and they are a fun activity with the family and with Primary singing). We headed back home for the one hour drive to finish our evening events and 30 minutes into the trip Julia realized that she forgot a book she needed to read for her AP class.

Open your PJ gift.

Read our nativity pageant book which contains part of Luke 2.

Birthday party for Baby Jesus. I always had pound cake with strawberries and ice cream growing up. The kids vetoed that. We had cheese cake instead. It was fun ... with sparkler candles and a whole can of whipped topping. Happy Birthday Baby Jesus!

We had 6 special people read the book Twas the Night Before Christmas. It was fun to hear them react to all 3 sets of Grandparents. The kids really got a charge out of the ending ...

A final clue

The final clue for the code to the gifts.

When I go shopping, I use these numbers.

They figured it out! Shoe sizes. They had to figure out who belonged to what number (although shoes sizes are tricky as they can be different with different brands). I used the girl's ballroom dance shoes. Jaley - 6, Jenna - 8, Julia - 9. Tennis shoes for the boys. Kerst - 3, Kendall 7.

Now to figure out what to do next year. Suggestions for a code? What code would you do with your kids?

Finished

I finally finished addressing and stamping our cards ... I still have a few to do and am not sure about some addressess. It was so nice to have Jaley's help ... Kerst and John came along to help speed up the process.

I will post our pictures for the card early next week so I don't ruin the surprise of our goofy annual Christmas Card pictures. I don't know what we will do next year ...

Advent Activity #24 - Twas the Night Before Christmas - read by the grandparents

We have several Advent Activities today ... more posts to follow

My amazing friend, Tara, is getting into the Holiday Traditions and shared with me a tradition she is doing with her kids this year. She told me that there is a recordable book (I saw one in Hallmark) for Twas the Night Before Christmas. I thought that was such a wonderful idea ... only my kids have 3 sets of Grandparents and they aren't in the same area!

I got some elves to help me (Thanks G/A, R/B, R/J)! Each set of grandparents read the story (different versions ... ). I took their individual audio files and edited them into several different versions making it appear that each grandparent took turns reading the book. I am making a cd for each book that has all of the different versions of the grandparents reading the book (with jingles bells for page turning and without).

I didn't use the recorded book since I was making my own (using Windows Movie Maker). So I was on the hunt for a book to use with this new tradition ... I fell in love with one that was illustrated by Mary Engelbreit! BONUS - AND ON SALE (with free shipping with a $25 purchase ... not too hard if I am trying to purchase one book for each of my kids for them to have when they leave home and start/continue their own traditions. Only one problem, this site limits your amount to 3 of these books - so I had to use another account to get enough for my 5 kiddos). I believe the Hallmark book is in the $30+ range. $9.71 is a great deal and I love Mary Engelbreit!

I took pictures of the boys reading the book and put it in a small photo montage with the all of their granparents reading the story to them.

Enjoy (low quality for web posting) ... and Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night!

Ollie Dec 24

This is Ollie's last day with us; he is heading back to the North Pole with Santa tonight.

I figure he wanted to do a sleepover for his last hurrah ...

Advent Activity #23 - Candle Light Dinner and Thankful Candles

Thankful Candles (light your individual candle and express what you are thankful for - youngest to oldest). Their thoughts ranged from cars (Kendall), being baptized (Kerst), reading the Book of Mormon (Jaley), swimming (Jenna), good friends (Julia), the Savior - my children - reading the Book of Mormon with Kerst in the morning - my amazing loving husband - the gospel (Corin), same as Corin - Jenna's good grades - Julia's singing - Kerst's baptism and being able to peform that - Kendall's smile - Jaley's peacemaker attitude (John).


Candlelight Dinner (with our Thankful Candles). We bought lobster tails for this special occasion. It was fun to see the kids trying to eat it - and seeing them grossed out. I think we will stick to Chinese Take Out (a treat over here!) and leave the lobster tails to John and me.

Watch the movie The Nativity Story. After watching it, Kerst said that was the best movie ever.

The voice of angels ...

The birth of the Savior was announced to the shepherds by an angel of the Lord. Heavenly Hosts joined.

I can only imagine how beautiful the music was during that miraculous time ... and that Julia and Trenton were among those Heavenly Hosts praising God.

They are singing this on Sunday in Trenton's ward. They will be practicing the with pianist on Saturday ...

I'm in heaven ...

Christmas Cards

I am still working on addressing our cards ... sigh ...

I am thinking I should post my pictures and our cliff notes version of an update ... even though I haven't mailed them yet.  Will it ruin the surprise?

And yet another clue ...

Another clue to the code on the gifts.  When we all went to the Orthodontist on Monday (yes, Kendall and I were the only ones who didn't have an appointment), each child had their clue on them.

Kerst's guess ... how many teeth that are loose.  Kerst has 3 loose teeth.  So who has 6, 7, 8 and 9 teeth loose?  Hmmm... try again!  Good guess Buddy!

Ollie Dec 23

Kendall tried getting into one of his gifts yesterday ... I think Ollie saw him and thought it looked fun.

Kendall scolded Ollie this morning when he found him.

Advent Activity #22 - Wrap Sibling Gifts and Go Hot Tubbing with a movie

Wrap sibling gifts (still need to do that ...). Go in the hot tub to watch a movie and drink bubbly (sparkling grape juice).

It was chilly!

It started to snow while we were out there ...

When I dried Kendall off, he looked at what 45 minutes in the hot tub did to him and told me that he had "Grandpa hands and Grandpa feet."

Ollie Dec 22

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care Ollie ...

Another clue

Here is another clue to the code:

If we were to use the code again next year, some of you (the kids) would keep your same number.

Advent Activity #21

Now that the kids are out of school, we can do a few more things during the day ...

Sibling gift shopping. Each child is assigned a sibling to purchase a gift for. Next year I am going to do what my brother and his wife do ... make a homemade gift. They'll have an entire year to think about what to make (and make it too!).

Go to a local mall that has amazing displays and visit Santa (so I can get my group shot with Santa).

Go and help clean the church (it is our assignment along with several other fun families ... I hope we leave the church clean with all of the fun and mischief we can get into with these families!)

(pictures to follow ...)

She's a sharp one

Jaley cracked the code (John thought it was too easy; I thought it was a bit tricky). She told me she was dreaming about it last night and was dreaming about ______ (I'm not going to tell you yet! I have 2 older kids that haven't figured it out; Jenna was there when the lightbulb went on in Jaley's head).

Jaley wins a lunch date!

So, the clue for today:

The number (3, 6, 7, 8, or 9) assigned to each child does not keep them in order (ie- not youngest to oldest or oldest to youngest).

Ollie Dec 21

I am thinking that Ollie is missing the snow since most of ours has melted off or maybe he did this in the kitchen back at the North Pole. After all, he is a Candymaker Elf.

Sugar angels...
You would think that with this mess, he would have started breakfast for us ...

A crack at the code

Jenna told me her idea for cracking the code.

She must be #9.

Why?

Because on a scale from 1-10, she rates 9 on "most annoying."

I laughed. I'm glad to hear she didn't list 4 other possibilities with that number for that code ...

She's wrong.

Keep guessing!

A hint ...

John gave the kids their first hint to the code.
I love how John had them huddle to hear the whispered secret.


The clue: the code can be answered in two words. You can assign the number to each child with classifying them with two words. For example ... eye color. Although the packages are not labeled: blue, green/hazel, blue, blue, blue.


Jaley asked if it was how many years until they left for college. Good guess, but she couldn't fit the classification into two words.

Tomorrow we will give them another hint ... oh the torture is so much fun!

Let the games begin ...

No, not reindeer games. We LOVE LOVE LOVE to torture our kids. We started this tradition last year. We came up with a "code" for their "name" on their gifts. They have to break the code to figure out who will be receiving which gift.

Last night John and I wrapped the gifts.

We came up with a code. Whichever child cracks the code, wins a prize.

Let the games begin!

The code - all packages are labeled with one of these numbers which corresponds to one of the kids:

3, 6, 7, 8, 9

Get crackin' kids!

They have already separated out the gifts into 5 piles to start this torturous process ...

Advent Activity #20 - Tithing Settlement

It's that most wonderful time of the year .... tithing settlement!

Each year we get to meet with our bishop for tithing settlement. We love our bishop and are grateful for all he does and the sacrifice he and his family give to us and our ward family.

The Spirit of Christmas

I love these sweet and simple messages.

Ollie Dec 20

Ollie is reporting in to Santa. We were able to get a recording!!! Enjoy ...

Advent Activity #19 - attend a Roller Hockey Game

Attend a roller hockey game.The star player ...
We are numbered among the number one fans! Kyle scored 2 goals! Roller Hockey was fun to watch ... and no injuries ... even better! Ice season starts soon ...

Julia with another #1 fan - Miss. K. We just love her (and Julia) ...

Ollie Dec 19

Kerst was up early - and on a Saturday. He sounded bewildered. He came into our room talking nonsense.

TP?


What? Who? Huh?

I was too tired to get up but listened to him babble. He loves to talk. He can talk your ear off. He is a great asset on long car trips.

Kerst found the camera and took a picture of the mess. He showed it to me. Now I see why he got up. He probably was still sleepy but something was different about his room that caught his eye. He woke up with a start.


I guess I would too if I saw this -

The mess went through Jenna's room (although she does a pretty good job at doing the mess on her own) and into Jaley's room. It didn't stop there.

I heard Kerst head downstairs. He found Ollie. Ollie was tangled up in the toilet paper hanging from the chandelier. Kerst proceeded to scold him ... too cute!
I just finished the 3 rolls in a bag in the Master Bathroom - compliments of Kendall ... now we have another collection. Thanks Ollie.

Advent Activity #18 - TV dinner and a movie

Go to the store and pick out your "TV dinner" and a movie.

(The boys were looking at the Madagascar Christmas movies ... Kendall was leaning towards the Wonder Pets save the Reindeer ...)

(It takes forever to cook 7 different meals in the microwave! Jaley mentioned that her tummy felt a little funny after eating it; she likes my home cooked meals ... but still loves this tradition. That made me feel good!)

Fun evening. I'm heading to bed. I think I hear Ollie; sounds like he might be into some mischief. Oh my.

Ollie Dec 18

I came down this morning and found that Ollie had gotten into my cupboards. He seems to like spicy things just like Jaley.

Advent Activity #17 - Call Santa

Call Santa. Listen to his voice mail message and leave your "wish list" message.

Yep ... free phone call. Go to telsanta.com and register. You listen to an "elf" to enter your wish list number that you get after you register. You then hear Santa's voice mail message and then you leave your wishlist after the "jingle bells" jingle. The message is e-mailed to the e-mail address you gave during registration. Save it on your computer forever!

Kendall has a "take 2" and "take 3" ... he really got into the idea of leaving messages. He also likes to listen to Julia's wish ~ "World Pee"

Ollie Dec 17

Update on my friend Heather - Level 42 fan

Go Heather!!!

Heather has been posting some really fun videos on youtube trying to get her favorite music group, Level 42, to the US for a concert. She posted a really fun "special edition" one recently. Enjoy!

I think someone has been listening ... way to go Heather!

Special request from Heather (you can respond if you can help on her facebook group for Level 42 "Level 42: North America Showin' Them the Love" )

"Hi Everyone!
If you haven't seen the latest Level 42 fan video, I'd encourage you to do so.... http://www.facebook.com/l/6758f;www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QjExXgbhyA

I'd like to ask a favor - if anyone knows of a promoter who might be interested in this endeavor of getting Level 42 across the Pond, please contact them. They might be interested in the newest buzz around Mark King and Level 42. Or contact your local '80s station and let them know about this really cool thing Mark King did. "Tis the season of giving, and Mark went above and beyond - so perhaps the story would interest peeps out there, Level 42 fans and non-Level 42 fans alike.
Thanks! Hope you're all doing well. And thanks for the support!
~Heather xo"

Advent Activity #16 - Attend Kerst's Pack Meeting

Attend Kerst's pack meeting and raid the treat table.

Kerst is a Bobcat! I was sad that they don't flip the boys upside down anymore. His giggle would have echoed through the entire gym. That would have been music to my ears.

Three guesses ... what color was the frosting on the cake?

Ollie Dec 16

He's making a list ...Kendall was not happy that Ollie had his magna-doodle. Hopefully Ollie will overlook Kendall's 3 year old attitude. Wait. He is 3!

"A" League Time!!!

Jenna shaved off another 5 seconds off of her 500 yd freestyle race and made "A" League Time today - 6:25 !!! The hug she got from her coach after her race made her day! She has officially lettered in swimming! She is going to work on her flip turns to make them more efficient and hopefully shave off enough time to make State Qualifying time in the 500 yd free! With 19 flip turns in this race, she can shave off time and qualify!

Way to go Jenna! We are VERY proud of you!!!!

Advent Activity #15 - Make Orange Julius or Dad-a-ccino

Make Dad-a-ccinos (our version of Starbucks Strawberry Frappuccino) - because "Dad" found a recipe and tweaked it - or make Mom's Orange Julius.

Strawberry Dad-a-ccino -

2/3 cup frozen strawberries (plain - NOT in syrup)
5 oz vanilla soymilk (we use regular milk as well)
2 tsp French Vaniola Coffee-mate powder (or the little liquid cup version that we get at Sams)
2 TBSP Strawberry Syrup
1 TBSP powdered sugar
3 large ice cubes

whipped topping

Place all ingredients in blender except for the whipped topping. Blend on high speed. Pour in cup and top with whipped topping.

Orange Julius

(I threw this together last week when Jaley was suffering from a cold and the kids have been requesting it ever since)
No exact measurements ...

3/4 cup milk
3 large ice cubes
2 TBSP orange juice concentrate
1 - 2 TBSP powdered sugar
1 liquid packet of French Vanilla Coffee-mate (or 2 tsp of French Vanilla powder)

Blend in blender and enjoy!!!

Ollie Dec 15

Ollie took a couple of Kerst's puppies out for a spin. Kerst was sad that Ollie wore out the batteries; he wanted to drive them around too ..

More swimming ...

Our swimmer has another meet tomorrow! She is doing great! I love going to her meets to cheer her on and watch her swim. She has the most beautiful freestyle ever! She loves to swim the 500 too ... I don't know where she gets that love for that distance!

Swim Jenna swim!!! The clips: the backstroke was from her 200 yd race (jv). The butterfly was for the 200 yd Medley Relay (varsity) and the freestyle was from her 500 yd (varsity).

Advent Activity #14 - Make Chicago-style Stuffed Pizza and watch a movie

Make homemade Chicago-style Stuffed Crust pizza. We used this recipe. It is just like the beloved Giordano's Pizza back in Chicago that we love and miss! Watch a movie!

Recipe by Andrea Meyers (tweaked by my John - in red)

Equipment

2 quart bowl
2 large mixing bowls
1 medium mixing bowl
deep dish pizza pan, 12″ diameter x 2″ deep
large cutting board
rolling pin

Ingredients

DOUGH - for 12 inch deep pizza pan.
1 1/2 the recipe for a 14 inch pan is in green *** We did the math for you! ***
3-1/4 cups bread flour (4 and 3/4 cup bread flour)
3 teaspoons sugar (4 and 1/2 tsp sugar)
4 teaspoons instant yeast (6 tsp yeast ... aka 3 TBSP)
2 teaspoons salt (3 tsp salt .... aka 1 TBSP)
1-1/4 cups warm water, not more than 115° F (1 and 7/8 cups water - I fill the second cup up and take out 2 TBSP of water to make the 7/8)
4 tablespoons olive oil (6 TBSP olive oil)

SAUCE (I use the same amount of sauce for the 14" deep dish pizza)
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes We like petite diced tomatoes
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1 whole clove of garlic garlic powder
(1/4 c Parmesan Cheese; we leave this out or sometimes sprinkle it on top of the sauce before baking it)

STUFFING
4 cups grated mozzarella cheese (6 cups for 15 inch crust) She uses less in her recipe
Fresh Spinach (She uses frozen, well drained spinach)

(You can use other ingredients; fresh spinach is our favorite! Use less cheese if you are filling it with more ingredients)

Preparation

1. DOUGH: Mix the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in the large mixing bowl. Make a well in the flour and add the warm water and olive oil. Mix and knead thoroughly until the dough clings together and cleans the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead for about 5 minutes, until the dough is smooth and soft. Dust with additional flour if the dough is sticking to your hands. Spread some olive oil around the other large mixing bowl and lay the dough in the bottom, turning it over so that the entire surface is coated with a light layer of olive oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel. Set the bowl in a warm place to rise for about 90 minutes, until doubled.

2. SAUCE: While the dough is rising, combine all of the ingredients except for the crushed/petite diced tomatoes. Simmer on stove top - ah that garlic! Just before adding to the top of the pizza after the top crust, add the crushed/petite diced tomatoes to the sauce - do not cook!

3. ASSEMBLE: Preheat the oven to 450° F. Punch down the dough and turn it out onto a work surface. Knead for about 1 minute. Divide the dough into two pieces, about 1/3 and 2/3 of the dough. Roll out the larger piece in a large circle until it is about 3 inches larger than the pan and 1/8 inch thick. Oil the bottom and sides of the pan. Place the dough into the pan and push it into the bottom and sides. The dough should overlap the pan by about 1 inch. Trim the excess dough with a knife, and set the pan aside. Roll out the second piece until it is about the same size as the pan. Toss the cheese and spinach together in the medium mixing bowl, and then put it into the pizza pan. Sprinkle with mushrooms and olives. Lay the second piece of dough on top, then crimp the two edges of the dough together with your fingers to form a thick border. Press down on the filling with your hand, and cut several slits on the top crust to allow steam to escape. Spread the tomato sauce evenly over the top crust and sprinkle with more grated Parmesan cheese.



4. Bake: Place the pizza pan on the lowest rack for 10 minutes, then move it to the middle rack for 25-30 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Transfer from the pan to a large wooden cutting board and let it stand for a few minutes before cutting.

Tips

Make sure the spinach has no liquid remaining before adding it to the pizza, otherwise you’ll end up with a soggy bottom crust. (This is why we used fresh spinach!) We (Andrea's recipe) put the thawed spinach in a colander and press on it with our hands, then press with paper towels to soak up every last bit of water.

Make sure you put the pizza on the lower rack first for at least 10 minutes so that the bottom crust cooks, otherwise you’ll end up with a soggy bottom crust.

Variations

Yeast: You can use 2 packages of active dry yeast instead of instant yeast. Proof the yeast by dissolving in the warm water with the sugar. If it blooms, you are ready to go.

Vegetables: Peppers, zucchini, and eggplant all make good fillings for this pizza. Chop them into bite-sized pieces and saute in 2 tablespoons of olive oil for a couple minutes, just until slightly softened. Combine with the cheese before adding to the pan.

Whole wheat dough: We sometimes substitute 1-1/2 cups of whole wheat flour for part of the bread flour.

Ollie Dec 14

I was happy that he didn't leave ice or a huge puddle of water on the floor! All he has to do is ask for help! Poor guy, he was probably stuck there all night until he was discovered this morning. That's rough being thirsty and stuck! I have to hand it to him, at least he used a cup instead of trying to drink straight from the dispenser (my kids better not read that previous thought of mine or they might try it!)

I love to share our traditions

Today in Primary at church, the children were able to experience two of my many favorite Christmas traditions.

The reenactment of the Nativity - the Sunbeams (children age 3-4) were the members in the cast. Mary was shy and kept her head covered the entire time with her blue fabric. Joseph leaned on the chair after awhile because he was getting tired. Mary didn't want to hold Baby Jesus so he rested on the floor in front of her. They were a cute group!

I also shared the tradition of a new ornament each year with them. They were all excited to get this ornament. I made 90 of them. Jaley and Kerst helped. You could tell which ornaments Kerst helped me make by the stitching on the backside. I told the Primary Children about their help and that a few of them would be lucky enough to get an ornament that Kerst helped make. At least 6 of them came up to me after church wanting to know if they had one of Kerst's special ornaments or if they could get one. I thought it was so sweet!

It took me just as long (if not longer) to make these as it would have been to cut out wood and paint some other ornaments I have made in the past ... I love sharing our traditions!

Enchords on tour

Julia's music group she directs were asked to sing at a private gathering.

Here are their numbers (you have heard most of them, but I still love hearing them in different settings). Julia is 3rd from the far left - in the light. I hope to have them record all of the songs they have been preparing ... what a talented group!

Singing Lullabye by Billy Joel

Singing The Winter Gift - a cappella (at the concert they had piano accompaniment)

Singing Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

Singing Deck the Halls

Advent Activity #13 - Make Homemade Eggnog and Cookies

Make homemade eggnog and Chocolate Cookies ... the kids were super excited!

Eggnog

Description:
This eggnog is a custard style eggnog. The ingredients (except for the cream) are slowly cooked on the stove top. This is great for those of you who are hesitant to eat raw eggs (especially for young children).

Ingredients:
4 eggs
3/4 c sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 qt milk (that's 4 cups)
3 tsp. vanilla
1 c. heavy whipping cream (I leave this step out many times to lower the calories)
nutmeg (this is added as desired to each glass)

Directions:
In small bowl, beat eggs, sugar, and salt until combined. In saucepan, heat milk until hot; remove. Add 1 cup milk to egg mixture, stirring constantly. This is to help warm the eggs up so that you don't have scrambled eggs with milk!

Pour egg/milk mixture back into saucepan; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. You will know the mixture is done when you dip a metal spoon into the mixture and then drag your finger across the back of it. . . you should be able to leave a "path". This takes about 5 minutes.

DO NOT BOIL or OVER COOK. If you over cook the eggnog, the milk will separate from the egg mixture. . . I have done this! Don't worry, you can blend it in a blender and it will turn out fine. . . it is much better if you don't over cook it the first time!  Editor's Note - Dec 2010 - cook the mixture until it reaches 75 degrees C (or nearly 175 degrees F) with a candy thermometer.

After you have cooked it until you can make a path with your finger on the back of a metal spoon, add the vanilla. Place saucepan in a bowl filled with ice water; stir occasionally until cool. Refrigerate until cold, 2 hours.

Before serving, beat cream until soft peaks form, and then fold into eggnog. Refrigerate. Serve with nutmeg

Makes 6 cups

Number Of Servings: 6 cups

Preparation Time:10 minutes cooking, 3 hours cooling (or overnight in fridge)


Chocolate Mint Cookies
Description:
These are SO yummy! My friend Nora C from IL brought these over to us for Christmas just before Kerst was born.

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 cup flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 pkg mints, Andes (4.67 oz) chopped
1 cup vanilla baking chips

Directions:
Mix all ingredients

375 degrees for 8-10 minutes

Number Of Servings:Makes 3 dozen

Ollie Dec 13

The boys started their laundry yesterday (with my help) ... but with how busy we were, we were unable to put it away. It was on the main floor - for someone to get into ...

Can you find Ollie? Can you tell what he did? This is probably one of my favorite things he got into so far! I think the girls were glad that they didn't start or leave their laundry on the main level last night!

Silly Ollie! You better watch out .... !

(That's Silly ... that's silly ... that's silly)

Advent Activity #12 - See Santa's Reindeer and Ward Christmas Party

I'm sure you are all waiting on pins and needles ... trying to catch up with these 2 busy days!

2 activities:

1. Visit Santa's Reindeer And a bonus visit with Santa!Remember Kendall last year? What a big difference a year makes! Here he is telling Santa he wants a farm, cows, chickens, pig, horses, tractor and a wagon (toy size that is).

2. Attend the Ward Christmas Party (O Little Town of Bethlehem)

During the dinner portion, a homeless man wandered in. Our bishop pulled out a chair for him to sit in - right next to where we were sitting. I was touched when Kendall brought over his very own plate of food and handed it to the man. So out of character for Kendall; sitting next to Santa is pushing his comfort zone. It brought to mind two scriptures: Matthew 25: 34-40 (Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me) and Isaiah 11:6 (and a little child shall lead them).